Gone were the days where I would find going to the mall an enjoyable outing.

My days as a teenager were filled with trips to the malls around PJ and Subang with my friends; in and out of comic shops, video arcades and bowling alleys.

Reaching there was never easy and there were basically three options: walking, cycling or taking the bus/train. But since we were as broke as Oliver Twist, minimizing the transportation cost was always our main concern; hence opting to walk or cycle. We needed to optimize the amount spent from our measly funds so that the bulk of it goes to the fun stuff (namely comics and video games et al, as mentioned earlier).

Walking for miles under the blazing hot sun was never pleasant even for the bravest of hearts. Yet the journeys were never short of laughter branching from our piss-taking on each other. The jangle of coins dangling from the pockets of our three quarter pants was the soundtrack of our expeditions. All amidst the puffing and panting for air. Thus most of the time, we'd be drenched in sweat by the time we reach the mall.

Nevertheless, the second we take the final chug off a shared bottle of soda, quenching every bit of our thirsty throats, we transform into rejuvenated souls as we saunter into the entrance. More often than not, half a minute under the cool breeze of the automated door and we'll be as good as new.

The most beautiful thing about going to the mall back then was that we cared very little about things beyond our domain of interests. It was always straight to The Mind Shop for the rarest comics and trading cards or WYWY for the hottest game titles in town. Everything else was only as important as getting our names jotted down by the school prefect.

It didn't matter that 90% of the time we won't end up buying any of the things that we drool over. The thrill of reaching the mall and walking hastily towards our favorite shops to see the things that we crave for neatly displayed behind glass showcases, in itself, gave a different kind of satisfaction. And especially with action figures, if we ever make a purchase, every piece of item from the experience becomes a memento; everything including the receipt, packaging and plastic bag.

And who could ever defy the effects of hormonal development in their prepubescent years. Going to the mall allowed us to feast our eyes on the beautiful young ladies of urban Klang Valley; none of them our age, which makes it a million times more exciting, really. It was the mid-90s so one could only imagine the number of women sporting those Rachel/Monica bangs; gorgeous young things they were.

Credits to them as well for assisting us in learning the new way of reading time.

I guess our fascination with women twice our age was simply the result of us being hated by most (okay, all) of the girls in school. Which still bewilders me actually... we never really did go any further than drawing pictures of Ken spreading his seed of love on their Barbie posters. Why all the hate when there’s so much to love anyway?

Nowadays, there’s simply nothing to look forward to upon going to the mall. Traffic jams, tight parking space, expensive parking, too many people, buildings so big you can never find your way out; the reasons are too aplenty to list down. Plus, women with huge sunglasses and hair full of volume whom we used to salivate over are no more twice our age. For they are now, our age... and rarely walks without a guy with popped up collars and spiky hair by their side.